The Changing of Minds
by Altariel3
Summary: What happens when a teenage girl who detests Lord of the Rings gets dropped into the middle of Middle Earth?
1. Loneliness Leads to Anger

Hey! I was just thinking, how I read so many stories about fans getting dropped into Middle-Earth, well what if someone who hated the idea of Lord of the Rings ( I know, that sounds odd, huh?) got dropped in there for that reason? Well...yeah. If you think it sounds interesting, please, read on. Thanks. 

.~*~. 

Emelie shivered as she stepped out of the warm shower. She hastily grabbed a towel and began drying herself off, humming quietly.   
_What am I going to do today? _She thought to herself cheerfully. _Maybe Jill or Alycia can come over and we can go to the mall or something. _Then her mood changed abruptly as she remembered what her friends had morphed into. Disgustedly she threw down the towel and slipped into her blue terrycloth robe, tying the belt with a violent jerk.   
Her three best friends had recently became Lord of the Rings fanatics. That was _all_ they talked about. When she Instant Messaged them, their away message would say:   
"Watching my extended version of the DVD, be back in five hours."   
or sometimes:   
"Gazing at my Legolas poster. I would talk to you, but I don't want to get drool all over the keyboard."   
Lately, the three had taken to speaking Elvish and writing in Dwarvish Runes. They had tried to get Emelie into it too, but she resisted. She simply wasn't into the Fantasy stuff. Her friends, however, didn't understand that and they took her to see the movie anyways, positive that she would simply love it. BIG mistake. She just criticized and laughed at everything.   
Her friends just shook their heads and muttered, "She just doesn't understand." Emelie would just roll her eyes, but deep down inside, she was hurt. She wanted to be included in their conversation, in all their jokes. She wanted it to be just like old times.   
Emelie pulled back the curtain of the little window and sighed as she watched a few snowflakes float to the already snow coated ground.   
_Maybe Mike and Steph will want to go sledding or something. _She flung open the bathroom door and stalked into the living room, looking for her twin brother and sister, who were only a year younger than her. She rounded the wall seperating the living room from the hall, opening her mouth so that she could yell at them to get their butts off the couch and into their snowsuits. As she came around the corner, she stopped. Steph was on the couch, reading a book, her bare feet hanging off the edge of the sofa while her brother sat glued to the Television set, playing his new Nintendo Game, which happened to be Lord of the Rings. Emelie rolled her eyes angrily and was about to storm back into the bathroom, when she narrowed her eyes and tried to make out the title of the book Steph was reading. She straightened up and yelled, "That's IT!" Both her siblings jumped and looked at her, their eyes wide.   
"I hate you two! I hate you so much! Do you not care that my life is boring as hell?! And why is it this why, do you ask?! BECAUSE OF THAT SHIT YOU'RE DOING RIGHT NOW! You reading your Lord of the Rings book, you playing your Lord of the Rings game! I hate it all! I wish this Tolkien ass was never born!" and with that she stormed out of the room, leaving her brother and sister staring after her, mouths slightly open.   
Emelie stomped into the bathroom and slammed the door shut. A bottle of hand cream teetered perilously on the edge of the sink for a moment and then fell onto the tile floor with a loud bang. Angry tears began to stream out of her eyes as she plugged the hairdryer into the wall and began blowdrying her hair. She glared at her reflection blurrily. "He was probably a lunatic," she muttered to herself. "How else could a jerk come up with such a stupid ridiculous story?! I wish he was never born!" She threw the hairdryer down and unplugged it from the wall. As she straightened up, she grabbed the sink to keep herself from falling. "Whoa..." she murmured. The whole room was swaying, and getting blurrier. She frantically wiped her eyes, thinking it was just her tears causing an illusion, but she found that her eyes were curiously dry. _Strange..._she thought before everything went black. 


	2. The grass is always greener in another w...

Thanks to you people who posted reviews, you are all incredibly sweet. This is my first attempt at writing here, so I'm a little nervous of what people are going to say, so thank you. :) Now, on with the story... 

.~*~.   
  
Emelie blinked. The sunlight was too bright. She automatically raised a hand over her eyes to block the glare. Squinting, all she saw was green. "What the...." She trailed off as her eyes adjusted to the light and she lifted her head up. She was face down in the grass. _Grass?!_ She sat up, and realized that she was still wearing her bathrobe.   
A couple of things came back to her. She had been in the bathroom, drying her hair...Emelie reached up; her hair was still damp.   
"Michael?! Steph?!" She shouted. Then she looked at the ground. _Grass?!_ She thought again, but this time more frantically. _Where's the snow?!_ In a burst of panic, she cried, "Mikey? Steph? This isn't funny! Come out, I'm sorry I yelled at you!" Then she looked at the ground again. "If there's no snow, then I can't be anywhere in New England. Its the middle of January and we just had that huge snowstorm." She muttered to herself. She looked around, more dazed than scared. She hadn't fully recovered from being knocked out. A random thought popped into her head, and she whispered in all seriousness, "I don't think we're in Connecticut anymore, Toto."   
There was a rustle of leaves and a gasp from behind her. Emelie's head whirled around, sending her wavy red hair flying. She gasped and jumped slightly backwards, which was very hard to do as she was sprawled out on the ground.   
There was a face peering out of the bushes. He looked about 25 or so, with curly blondish hair, and he looked more afraid of this person lying in his yard than a mouse does who is about to be trampled by an elephant.   
This man seemed to gather up his courage, and he stepped out of the bush and towards the patch of grass where Emelie lay. When he came out into full view, Emelie gasped again. The man was only about four feet tall! _Oh great,_ she thought. _I'm in the land of the midgets._ She looked the man up and down and added, _Midgets who have no fashion sense. _But there was something about this little guy that seemed strangely familiar.   


.~*~. 

Sorry it was so short. I'll be writing another one shortly, probably later on today. 


	3. Discovering ones Location

No introduction thingey this time, we're just going to jump right in... 

.~*~.   


"Alright, what are you doing in Mr. Frodo's garden?" The "midget" was speaking. This statement surprised Emelie for a number of reasons.   
1. He had an odd accent   
2. His voice sounded familiar (Especially the way he said Mr. Frodo)   
3. She had definitely heard the name Frodo before.   
_Frodo..._Emelie thought, racking her brain furiously. It didn't take long. Frodo was who Alycia and Nicole were always talking about. One of the characters from that blasted Lord of the Rings.   
"Come on, out with it!" The man had his arms crossed, and Emelie realized that she was supposed to answer this question. However, she felt very uncomfortable lying on the hard ground, so she stood up and smoothed her robe. She was about a foot and a half taller than the poor fellow, and as he looked up at her, all his courage seemed to melt away and his lower lip trembled like he was going to scream.   
Not knowing what else to do, Emelie got down on one knee so that she was eye level with the man. He stepped back, frightened. "Don't be afraid!" She said quietly, concealing the fear that had just gripped _her_ body. She knew she was lost, but had no idea where she was or how to get back. "I'm not going to hurt you! I just want to know where I am."   
The short man trembled and said, "You-you're in the shire, Ma- Ma'am. "   
Emelie's face became like stone. "The shire?" She said coldly.   
"Yes, Ma'am. You're in Mr. Frodo Baggin's garden."   
Emelie closed her eyes and placed a hand on her forehead. "It's all right, Em, you're just dreaming. You'll wake up and be back home in a few minutes." she whispered to herself. _Well, if I'm dreaming, I might as well make the most of it. _She looked at the man, who was staring at her, probably thinking she was either nuts or schizophrenic. "What's your name?" The man looked up. "Samwise Gamgee." Emelie backed up a step. _This is it. I've entered hell. Also known as Lord of the Rings land. Either that or I've gone completely insane._ She swallowed nervously. "Umm...do you think you could please introduce me to this...Mr. Frodo?" Sam seemed to brighten up at this, probably eager to get rid of this giant, and lead Emelie around the side of what appeared to be a small hill. When they rounded the hill, she blinked in surprise. There was a path and a fence and there was a little round door on the side of the hill. She looked in the other direction, and gasped. The scenery was gorgeous. There were little hills and fields of wildflowers, and everything looked so peaceful. A sharp rap gave her a start, and she looked back at Sam. He was knocking on the circular door, and calling, "Mr. Frodo? It's me, Sam." Emelie watched in amazement as the door swung inwards and another person, just as short, if not shorter, peeked out. "Sam, you don't have to knock, you can come-" He stopped as he noticed the fiery haired, string bean skinny, apparently human girl towering behind him. Emelie was tall for her age, and she stood taller than all the other kids in the Freshman class. It was awkward in school, and it was even more of a pain now.   
"Uh....who is your friend, Sam?" Frodo asked, eyes never leaving Emelie.   
"Friend?" Sam said indignantly, "She's no friend of mine, and you know that Mr. Frodo. I found her lying in your garden out back. She doesn't know where she is, apparently and-" he glanced up at Emelie, and then leaned towards Frodo in a secretive manner and whispered, "And I reckon she doesn't know how to get back." Emelie, of course heard all this, and she said, "You're right, Mr. Gamgee." Sam looked up, startled. "I have no idea how to get back home. But I think I know where I am now. The Shire. Middle-Earth, right?" _I should know it, stupid idiots talk about it enough at lunchtime. _The two hobbits looked up at her in amazement. Frodo said, "You mean you're not from Middle-Earth?" Emelie looked down at them. "No, I'm not. Of course not. Does it look like I am?" Their awestruck gazes never wavered.   
"Maybe she's a Valar." Murmured Sam.   
"A Valar? What's that?" Emelie was not in a good mood, and she wanted to get home.   
"A valar," Sam said. "Is one of them great peoples who lives in Valinor. They-"   
"Well then I'm not one of them. I'm a human. You are hobbits am I right?"   
They both nodded simultaneously.   
"Well, I am a human. I am 15 years old, am in a very bad mood, and I don't know how to get home." Tears threatened to spill from her eyes. "I just want to go home." 

.~*~. 

Hope that was long enough for you peoples. Or maybe it was too long? I don't know. If you have any comments, please review! Thank you very much! 


	4. Of Dresses and Wizards

I apologize for having the text centered. It makes it easier for me to write, I didn't know that it was hard to read. Will fix. Thanks for pointing that out. 

.~*~. 

Emelie couldn't take it anymore. Here she was, in the middle of another world, with no one she knew, no clothes on (except her faithful bathrobe), no shoes, no friends, no television, and most importantly: No way to go back. So she did the thing any sane person would do in her position (although at this point, she wasn't sure if she was sane or not). She cried.   
Frodo and Sam were standing there, watching this giantess collapse into tears. They were not sure what to do, and for a few seconds they stood there awkwardly as the sound of her sobs floated in the still air.   
"Umm...why don't we go....uh....inside?" Frodo said uncomfortably. Emelie nodded tearfully and she followed Sam through the circular door. Frodo shut it behind him. He led them into a room at the back of the hole, and pulled out three chairs. But the chairs were made for Hobbit-size bottoms, and Emelie knew that there was no way she would be able to fit on that. So she sat cross-legged on the floor. She had stopped crying now, but the tears had done their work. Her face was red and tear streaked. Her eyes were puffy and rimmed with red. All in all, she looked awful. Frodo and Sam sat in the chairs and just stared at her. After a few moments, Emelie cleared her throat.   
"Uh...you wouldn't happen to have any clothes that would fit me, would you?" The hobbits looked at her robe. They had never seen anything like it before. Emelie followed Frodo into his bedroom, where they took everything out of his chest of drawers. Nothing looked like it would fit her. _Most of this stuff wouldn't even fit the kids I baby-sit for._ She thought wryly. Sam entered the room with an extra bedspread in his hands.   
"Maybe we could make something out of this." He said shyly, almost embarressed at having suggested it. Frodo saw his discomfort and said, "Sam! That's a great idea!" and it really was. With a thread and a needle, they had made a simple dress, toga style, within twenty minutes.   
For the first time since she had arrived, Emelie was happy. She ran into the bathroom and slipped it on. The fabric was white and heavy. The toga reached her knees and it was very loose and comfortable. There were no sleeves, but since it was pretty warm in the Shire, Emelie didn't think that would be a problem. She came out of the bathroom carrying her bathrobe and beaming. The dress wasn't gorgeous, but it would do. The three then went back into the study and sat down. Frodo said, "We need to figure out what to do." Emelie nodded her head emphathetically. "First off, how did you get here, and where were you?"   
Emelie paused, thinking of how to put this. "I don't know how I got here. In my home, Earth, this whole place, this whole _world _is Fantasy. It doesn't exsist. Some guy, Something Something Something Tolkien invented it. I was just drying my hair when I fainted. When I woke up, I was here." Emelie's voice faded out. It was almost as if a little light bulb had gone off in her head. _I was cursing Tolkien. I was saying I wished he'd never been born. Is this my punishment?_   
Frodo and Sam just looked at her curiously. Frodo said, "Well, I don't know how you're going to get back then. You'll have to stay here until we figure it out." Emelie paled a little. Frodo had gotten up from his chair and was pacing back and forth, thinking. "You'll have to stay inside, never come out unless we say you can, the people in the Shire are very nosy. " Emelie nodded, but she felt the tears coming back into her eyes.   
It had gotten dark, Sam left and Frodo showed Emelie to the guest bedroom, apologizing for the size of the bed. Emelie grinned despite her homesickness at the sight of the shrunken sleeping pad. "It's all right," she assured him. "I usually sleep curled up in a ball anyways." Frodo said goodnight and left the room. Emelie crawled into the bed and pulled the covers over her head. It took an hour for her to fall asleep. She kept hearing the birds and other animals, she couldn't hear the trucks whizzing by or cars zooming along. It was very disturbing. In the end, she cried herself to sleep.   
Emelie woke up with the sun. She stretched and almost fell out of the bed. She rubbed her eyes in surprise. _Where the hell am I?!_ Then her eyes fully opened, and everything came back to her. _Oh yeah. How could I forget? _She crawled out of bed, and found Frodo in the kitchen cooking breakfast. Good old bacon and eggs. "Thank God you eat normal food around here." Frodo turned around and saw her bending in the doorway. "Good morning." Emelie nodded. Frodo scooped a couple of eggs and a few slices of bacon on a plate and handed it to Emelie. "I'm going out today, I can't stay locked up in here all the time. You'll have to find something to occupy yourself with." Emelie nodded again, and spooned a mouthful of egg into her mouth as Frodo sat down with his plate.   
Frodo left soon after breakfast, and Emelie was left to her own devices. She had found quite a number of books in what appeared to be the library, and she had found some interesting titles, and had read a few of them. Frodo came home before dusk, and Emelie helped made dinner. During dinner, Emelie asked lots of questions. About the books she had read, about Middle-Earth, about hobbits, and Frodo gave long, full answers. While they were cleaning up, Frodo announced that he and Sam were going to the Green Dragon, a local tavern that night. "All right, don't mind me, I don't want to bother you. Just go on with your everyday stuff!" Emelie waved the dishtowel at him and he grinned and went off.   
After she finished drying and putting away the dishes, she took another book off the shelf and went into her bedroom to read it. About two hours had passed and she heard Frodo return. She climbed out of bed, and walked through the halls towards the door, when she heard the voice of someone else. Startled, she peered around the corner cautiously. There was an old man standing there as Frodo rummaged through a chest, finally holding an envelope up. The old man snatched the envelope and tossed it into the fire. Emelie listened and watched as the man gave a long speech about how the ring (which had been in the envelope, Emelie remembered) could destroy the whole world. She followed them into the kitchen, where the old guy continued to tell Frodo how evil the ring was. Frodo stared at the ring for a few moments in silence, holding his cup of tea. "First Emelie, now this."   
"Emelie?" The old man said sharply. "What is that?" Frodo pointed toward the doorway, where Emelie was standing. The man whirled around in his chair and Emelie backed away, because for a moment it looked like he was going to attack her. "What are you doing here?" He asked. Emelie shrugged. "I was hoping you could tell me. You're a wizard aren't you?" The old man's piercing blue eyes stared into hers. For at least five minutes he stared at her. Emelie stirred uncomfortably. It felt as though this man was reading her past, and her future.   
"You were sent here for a purpose." Gandalf said (Emelie had remembered his name). "Not to benefit us, but to benefit you. We have already done everything. You have entered a memory of the past. You will not change the history books." Emelie narrowed her eyes, thinking hard. "You mean, those books are history? They're not made up?" Gandalf looked hard at her. Then he turned back to Frodo and resumed his conversation. 

.~*~.   
I noticed that a lot of people have these disclaimers at the top of their stories. Is this neccessary? I think everyone knows here which characters belong to Tolkien and which do not. Right? 


	5. Gandalf's Orders

Okay, here's a disclaimer, which I am told is necessary:   
Disclaimer: No one is mine, excepting Emelie, who probably isn't truly mine either because there are probably at least 1000 girls in this world named so. Besides, I don't have $5000 handy to copyright the name any ways. 

Some of the stuff in here isn't exactly how it happened in the books, the time may be different and what not. Sorry. 

!!Thanks to all the people who reviewed!! 

.~*~.

Emelie stood with her arms folded as Gandalf went on talking to Frodo in an urgent voice as if she was never there. Presently, the two ran to Frodo's room, where he quickly packed his stuff. All of a sudden there was a rustling at the window. _I don't remember this happening in the movie!_ She thought as she fell to the floor next to Frodo. Gandalf moved towards the window and thrust his staff forward. There was a loud "oomph!" and Gandalf dragged Sam into the room, yelling. Emelie stood up, sighing with relief. She answered her own thought. _That's probably because you were asleep._   
Gandalf was going on and on, and then Sam was going on and on, and Emelie was yawning on and on, because it was very late at night, and she hadn't gotten any sleep. Then, very suddenly, Gandalf ordered everyone to go to bed, because they would have to get up bright and early the next morning. Sam ended up sleeping in the bed that Emelie had occupied the night before (Gandalf wouldn't let him leave the house because he was afraid that he would talk about it) and Emelie slept on the floor next to him.   
The next morning, Gandalf proved true to his word. The sun had barely risen above the horizon. It was very very early. Too early for Emelie's liking. She helped Sam get a bundle together full of his cooking equipment and some food, and then they were off. Gandalf was checking Frodo and Sam's bags, and when he was finished, he turned to Emelie. "Where's your bag?" Emelie blanked. "My bag?! I'm not going, I'm staying here." Gandalf shook his head. "Oh no you're not, you're going with them." Emelie backed away.   
"Uh uh, I am not not NOT going. I don't want to be attacked by things or killed or anything." Something in Frodo's eyes changed, and Sam swallowed nervously. Gandalf's mustache twitched in anger. "Do you want to get back home?" He said in a quiet voice that was full of menace. Emelie nodded fervently. "Good." Gandalf said. "The only way to get there is to go." On the last word, he pointed towards the kitchen. Emelie's mouth dropped open, but she obediently went and packed a sack full of food. When she emerged from the room, Gandalf had a satisfactory smirk on his face but the Hobbits just looked frightened.   
The four walked and walked together until they had reached the woods. There Gandalf said he was leaving them. They were to go to Bree, where he would be. Before getting on his horse, Gandalf whispered to Emelie, "Do not frighten them any more than you already have. You will get home, I promise you. Make your time here be as enjoyable as possible." The last part sounded like it had come from a Travel Brochure, Emelie thought laughingly to herself. This made her smile, and Gandalf smiled also, knowing that she would be all right for the time being.   
After Gandalf had left them, they walked and talked and walked some more. Four hours into their journey, they had reached Farmer Maggots crop. Sam had been a few meters behind them, and thinking he had lost them he called, "Frodo? Mr. Frodo?!" Frodo and Emily ran back to him, thinking he was in trouble. Frodo said, "We're still in the Shire, what could possibly happen?" Emelie was about to say, "You never know." When two other Hobbits burst from the cornstalks and tackled Frodo and Sam to the ground. Emelie shrieked, and the two strangers looked up.   
  


.~*~.  
  
Sorry it was rather short. I will add more later on today.  
  
  
  



	6. Just when you thought it wasn't possible...

So sorry for the delay! I have not been feeling that great, and haven't gotten out of bed in a while. Also, its back to school for me, so I won't be posting as much. Plus mid-terms (eek!) so I'm going to have to be studying as much as possible. Thanks to the reviewers! Keep 'em comin! Well, if you want to. 

Heehee. Enjoy. 

.~*~. 

"What is _that_?!" Pippin asked as he gazed in wonder at this creature before him. Merry's mouth was also hanging open, but Emelie had her hand pressed against hers, looking rather sheepish, having screamed bloody murder. A not so distant shout broke the silence, and Sam said, "You've been in Farmer Maggot's crop!" Emelie looked towards the voice and saw a scythe coming through the cornfield. She whirled around just in time to see Frodo, Merry and Pippin disappear into the cornstalks. Sam was staring in horror at the scythe, which Emelie figured must be this Farmer Maggot.   
"Sam, go!" She shouted, and he threw the vegetables into the air and ran into the corn, which was about a foot taller than him, but it was about eye level for Emelie. She blinked and caught a head of lettuce that had been flung in front of her face. Clutching the lettuce, she ran after Sam.   
In about two minutes, they emerged from the field into a steep embankment. Emelie was still behind Sam, and she noticed the three hobbits ahead of them stop suddenly, and she swore. Sam, however, didn't notice this, as he was looking past Emelie at the approaching blade. He smashed into the other hobbits and with a shout, they all toppled over the grassy ledge and feet four feet down onto a steep embankment and they began rolling down.   
"Damnit!" Emelie muttered as she cautiously jumped down and stumbled as she tried to gain her balance. When her feet were planted firmly on the pine needles, she looked down to see where the hobbits were. They were still rolling very fast, and the hill was very steep. "Shit," she muttered and she began running as fast as she could, struggling to keep herself from slipping on the slippery needles or tripping over a tree root.   
She glanced up just in time to see a set of curly heads drop out of sight, and a loud, "Oof!" filled the air. Swearing again, she tried to pick up the pace, and within seconds she was looking down at the pile of hobbits. "Are you alright?" She asked. Frodo nodded and extracted himself from the pile, Sam helping him up. Merry and Pippin lay on the ground as they were before, staring at Emelie. "What is that?" Pippin repeated his question. Merry said, "I dunno. Maybe a Valar or something." Emelie flung her arms up in the air with exasperation. "I am _not_ a Valar. For the last time!" She jumped down to where the were, and extended each of them a hand. Their gaze went from her face to her outstretched hands. Tentatively, they each took one, and she hauled them to their feet. "I am Emelie. I am a human girl. 5"6', enjoys swimming, going to movies and sunbathing." The sarcastic edge in her voice broke the moment, and Pippin, Merry and Sam were distracted by a bunch of mushrooms. Frodo was staring off into space, and Emelie went over to him. "Who are those two?" She asked. Frodo looked at them, shoving their mushrooms into a bag. "That one's Merry and the smaller one's Pippin." Frodo's eyes went back to the clearing in the trees ahead of them. Emelie followed his gaze. As they watched, the trees seemed to shrink and the path seemed to get larger, leaves blowing everywhere. Emelie's eyes grew wide.   
"I think we should get off the road." Frodo's voice was almost casual. Emelie looked at him in admiration, even as the other part of her brain said. _Road? What road? THIS is what they call a ROAD? _But even so, she hoisted Pippin up onto the higher ground and helped the others up and the hobbits squeezed under a large tree root. Knowing that there was no possible way she was going to fit under there, she leaned up against the tree trunk. She watched in amusement as Sam and Merry fought over the mushrooms, but she saw Frodo was looking around like he expected something to jump out of the trees at any second.   
Within moments, there was the faint clanking sound of metal. Emelie looked and saw a black horse with a black leg. She didn't need to look any further. She slid down onto the ground as the metal boot clanked, hitting the earth. Something moving on the ground caught her eye. There were bugs crawling out of the dirt, insects just squirming everywhere. Emelie's hand shot to her mouth in horror and disgust. There was a loud sniffing sound for what seemed like hours, and then Merry grabbed the bag of carefully handpicked mushrooms and flung them away, they went whizzing an inch from Emelie's face into the bushes about ten feet away. The thing made a shrieking noise and galloped away into the woods. Emelie let out a sigh of relief. She hadn't realized that she had been holding her breath. She looked and saw that Frodo was drenched with sweat and he looked like he was hurt. She was puzzled, but didn't mention anything. Then, without any discussion, they all ran off into the woods. 

.~*~. 

Hope you liked it! Please review! 

  
  



	7. Things that Jump in the Night

Wow, its been so long since I've written here, I'm really sorry its taken me so long. I will try to keep it up, but my brilliant ideas are fading and school is taking up a lot of my time. If you have any ideas or comments e-mail me, review or IM me on AIM my screen-name is jllybeanie .Thanks and hope you enjoy! 

.~*~. 

Emelie and the hobbits were jogging at a good pace through the woods. She was sweating but her long legs were covering a lot of ground and she constantly had to slow down to make sure that the hobbits could keep up. As the sun began to set, they slowed to a walk, their breaths loud in the stillness of the twilight. Finally Pippin asked the question that everyone had been thinking. "What was that?" They all looked at Frodo expectantly, but Emelie knew that he couldn't possibly know any more than they knew. She sighed and kept walking.   
It was pitch black now and Emelie was wishing she was back home with her flashlight and a few Energizers. But the moon was bright and visibility wasn't too bad. Then she heard Merry gasp and point through the trees. There, backlit by the moon was a horse and rider. Emelie gasped and stepped back, knocking into Pippin. As the horse trotted down the knoll, away from them, they slowly began to breathe again and pressed onward. Merry had mentioned a ferry so Emelie listened for the trickle of a stream or the roar of a waterfall, but heard nothing. She was going to ask them about this ferry when all of a sudden a shriek erupted from the trees in back of them and Emelie swung around and screamed. The black rider was right there. With another scream, Emelie took off, going in which ever way seemed best, since the hobbits were behind her. When she glanced back, she saw the black rider galloping through the trees and saw the hobbits trying to make their way through the woods towards the left of her. Abruptly she changed directions and tried to follow them as best she could. They were ahead of her now. Then she realized that Frodo wasn't with them.   
"Frodo?!" She half yelled, half screamed. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Frodo running a few feet in front of the rider. "Shit!" she said. i> Frodo's the only one of us who actually matters./i> Heart racing, she stopped and turned around, waiting for Frodo to catch up to her. When he did, she heard him letting out a fearful sob with every step. As she started to run alongside him, she contemplated picking him up and carrying him, but then she figured that Frodo probably weighed more than she did although he was only up to her waist. So she grabbed his arm as started pulling him through the trees. At last they emerged into a clearing and when she looked around frantically she saw a small dock and a tiny raft. The other hobbits were on it, hurriedly undoing the ropes that tied the raft to the dock. Running faster, she practically dragged Frodo till they came to a fence. Luckily, it was only knee high oh Emelie and she vaulted over it and in one swift motion, swung around and lifted Frodo up over it. He was lighter than she had expected. Then she dropped him to the ground and sprinted for the raft, jumping onto it in one swift stride, and helped Frodo onto it too. She felt the raft sway under her weight and quickly sat on the wood, not wanting it to tip. A shriek brought her back to the present and her head jerked up. The horse and rider were mere yards away on the dock that she had been standing on only seconds before. Mouth open, eyes wide with fear, she looked at Frodo, amazed when he asked when the next crossing was. i> How can he think at times like this? /i>   
Emelie closed her eyes and made an unsuccessful attempt to calm her jumping nerves. After a while she began breathing evenly and when she opened her eyes she was amazed to find that it was still dark out and they were still floating down the river. "Almost there now." Merry said softly. The fear and shock of their chase seemed to have worn off. But when they stepped off the ferry and onto the land, it all came back. It was as if the water had made them safe, but now that they weren't in its borders, it could no longer protect them. They came onto a road and Emelie noticed that it was raining quite hard. Frodo went and knocked on a large wooden gate in a large wooden fence that seemed to have just appeared out of no where. A flap opened at just above Emelie's eye level and an old man with a crooked nose peered out. "Whadda you want?" He snarled. Frodo was the one who spoke though. "We want to stay at the inn." The man blinked and then peered down through the hole. When he saw the hobbits, he bent down and looked through the lower flap. "Four hobbits and a girl?" He cackled, then opened the gate. "Strange folks traveling in strange parties." As the five walked through the gates, Emelie glared at the man. He seemed like a dirty old man with a dirty old mind, Emelie thought. If he had been back in her would, he certainly would have been one of those toothless homeless guys who sit on the street guzzling whiskey and whistling at every girl that walks by. Emelie shuddered and they made their way through the crowd, getting some pretty weird looks from some people who looked pretty weird. Then they saw it. A sign swinging in the wind. i>The Prancing Pony/i>. 

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So sorry for taking so long although I'm sure not many people were waiting. :) Please review if you like. Thankees. 

  
  



	8. Stranger or Strider?

Thanks to you people who posted reviews, I love you! XOXO :) 

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Emelie breathed a sigh of relief as they stepped into the warm pub. She reached up to pull her hood off, but then when she heard the loud guffaws of drunk male laughter, she decided to keep it on. She doubted any other girls would be in here. She turned her attention to the man who had just come up to the counter. He looked over at her curiously, but when she turned her head his gaze went to the hobbits. Emelie listened as Frodo asked for Gandalf. Her head turned sharply when he said Gandalf wasn't there. A sense of fear rose up in her. _But he was in the rest of the movie, wasn't he?!_ She cursed herself for not paying more attention in the movie theater.   
The five of them moved into the tavern and Emelie sat down next to Sam, making sure to keep her head down at all times, letting the coarse green fabric hide her face . Merry and Pippin moved to the bar and Emelie sat in complete silence with Sam and Frodo. Sam looked like he was about to cry. Frodo tried to comfort him, "Don't worry Sam, he'll be here." He looked over at Emelie pleadingly. She wanted to say something to make Sam feel better, but she was feeling the same way. Emelie noticed that Sam kept glancing over Frodo's shoulder and into a darkened corner of the room. As if on queue, Sam said, "That fellows done nothing but stare at us since we arrived." Emelie leaned over and followed Sam's eyes. What she saw sent a jolt of fear and shock up her spine. Sam was right, he was staring at them. Something clicked in Emelie's brain. _Wait, isn't he a good guy?_ She was going to mention something about it, although she wasn't sure because his face was mostly covered, but then a shout came from the bar, where Pippin was. "Sure I know a Baggins! Frodo Baggins!" Emelie looked at Frodo in a panic. She saw him go tense and jump up and run towards the bar. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the man in the corner (Strider, the inn keep had said was his name) straighten up suddenly. She stood up and pushed the chair away from the table, about to run over and tackle the man before he did anything to Frodo, but there was a shout and when Emelie looked Frodo was gone. She gasped along with everyone else and then looked over at the stranger in the corner, but he was gone too. "Shit!" she shouted, but only Sam heard her because the place was buzzing with amazement. "What happened?" Sam asked, frightened out of his mind. Emelie didn't answer, just ran upstairs. Sam followed, getting Merry and Pippin to follow also.   
Emelie grabbed a candelabra and raced down the hall where the rented rooms were. She went and put her ear up to each door, and from the third one she heard Frodo's frightened voice and a low rumble of a man's voice. She looked at the three hobbits and mouthed, "This one." They nodded and Emelie whispered, "One...two...three!" and she watched as Sam barreled into the door and ran into the room, shouting. She started when she saw the man had his sword drawn and pointed in their direction. The man's eyes flicked over each of them for a second, and then he gave a soft sigh of relief and slid his sword back into its sheath. "You have a stout heart, but that will not save you." Emelie stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. Now she was positive that he was on their side. She remembered him. Merry looked at her like she was insane for blocking their only route of escape from this potential madman. She ignored him.   
The man who the innkeeper had called Strider convinced them to sleep in his room. Sam , Merry and Pippin were in his bed trying to get some sleep, but weren't being very successful; they were too scared. Frodo sat in a chair next to Strider, who was staring out the window and smoking a pipe. Emelie sat cross-legged on the floor and tried to hold her breath. The tobacco smelled awful and Emelie wondered vaguely if she should warn them about the dangers of second hand smoke then thought better of it, seeing as he had a sword and all she had was a white belt from one month of karate lessons when she was seven.   
They sat like that without saying a word for at least half an hour, when there came a sound of horses approaching in the distance. Emelie uncrossed her legs nervously and an image of a black stallion with a black rider flashed in her mind. There was a shriek and then a crash. Strider sat up straighter and Merry rolled over in his fitful sleep. Emelie felt as though she would scream at any moment. She'd never been as frightened as she was right then.   
  
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Sorry it was so short, but I have to go and just want to get in a post before tomorrow, so yah...hope you liked it, it kinda had a crappy ending lol will write more later on  



	9. On the Road Again

I just want to apologize for the format of the past chapters, I was going back and reading them and the paragraphs were kinda squished together and it made it difficult to read, but I'm gonna fix that in this one, I hope. Thanks for pointing that out Catz! :) Thanks to everyone else who reviewed also I love you all! 

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Emelie bit her lip to keep from shouting out as she saw a group of black figures gallop down the road towards them. She hugged her legs to her chest and tried to think happy thoughts. It didn't work. Strider looked calm and composed, and Emelie shook her head. _Its almost as if this sort of thing happens every day._ There was a faint sound of wood breaking and Strider nodded his head towards the window on the building across the way. Emelie gave a start as two black silhoutes appeared. In a flash, everything became clear. They had placed pillows in the four hobbits beds, and Strider had come around and made sure everything was perfect and then they hastily returned to his room. Emelie and the hobbits were a little confused as to why they had done this, but now Emelie understood. She flinched as she saw the silhoutes swing their arms down and heard the rip of cloth and shrieks of infuriated Nazgul, as Strider was telling Frodo they were called.  
  
Sam, Merry and Pippin were now wide awake and everyone was listening to Strider talk about the Nazgul. "They were once kings. Great Kings of men." Emelie shivered. There was something about Strider's voice. It was pleasant to listen to but it had a cold, mysterious edge that sent warning signals to Emelie's brain. But the voice was comforting and she found herself wishing he would talk more. "Then the Dark Lord Sauron gave them nine rings." Emelie looked at the black figures outside and wondered how they ever could have been human. They seemed so much more powerful than any person Emelie had ever heard of. Then she thought of Hitler and the terrorist groups and her heart sank.   
  
Emelie finally fell asleep on the floor and early the next morning Strider woke them up at the break of dawn. They bought a pony from the innkeeper and started off on their journey. The hobbits seemed like they didn't trust him, but Frodo seemed resigned to the fact that he was their only way of getting...somewhere. They weren't really sure where they were going. Sam was the first one to get up enough nerve to ask where he was taking them, although Emelie thought that Frodo might have if he cared but he had more important things on his mind. When Strider answered, "Rivendell." Emelie saw Sam's eyes light up and he made some inane comment about going to see elves. Emelie rolled her eyes and thought of how stupid it all was. It was all make believe, this whole place, and now she was going to meet a bunch of make believe people. The hobbits were okay, because they were just short people and Emelie had seen a lot of short people (everyone was short from her view of practically 6 feet off the ground) but elves?!   
  
They walked at a pretty good pace and covered good ground. Emelie had long legs and she was able to keep up with Strider most of the time, but the Hobbits kept falling behind. A few days into their journey, they came to a hill and on top of the hill was a ruined building. As they approached, Emelie saw that it was made completely out of stone. Strider explained to them that this was a watch tower in the ancient days that had been abandoned. It was called weathertop. As they clambored over the boulders and onto the flat ground, Emelie hoped that it wouldn't live up to its name and that it would be a nice dry night.   
  
Strider told them that he was going to go have a look around and gave them each a sword. The hobbits' were small and looked kind of puny compared to Striders long blade, and he handed Emelie a medium sized one. She stared at it dumbly, wondering and hoping that she wouldn't actually have to use it. Strider announced that he was going off to look around, and he left the five of them there, shivering even though the air was warm. They stared after him into the darkness for a while, and then decided that they would all try to get some sleep. Emelie curled up on the hard ground and wished she was home afe in her warm bed. But when you're exhausted you don't really care if you're comfortable or not, and Emelie soon fell asleep.  
  
Emelie woke up and rubbed her eyes. It was dark out, but three of the hobbits had a fire going. Emelie gave a sigh of relief and she moved towards the warm flames, stepping carefully over the sleeping Frodo. "Strider hasn't come back?" She asked. They all shook their heads and Sam looked around fearfully. Merry handed her a sausage and she ate it slowly, it was kind of burnt. There was a shout from Frodo, and Emelie inhaled sharply, sucking a charred piece of sausage to the back of her throat. Choking, she watched as Frodo launched himself towards the fire, jumping on it yelling, "Put it out!" Still drowsy, it took Emelie a few extra seconds to realize what was wrong. "Crap!" She said and jumped up just as the last flickering flame was extinquished and they were left in complete darkness.  
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Oooo.....a cliffhanger. Haha lol Wow I have way too much fun writing these things. Please post a review! Thank you!   
  
  
  



	10. Rest Stop

Okay...first time I have been called evil by someone and then asked to continue. LOL. Thanks WeaslyTwins. And Catz (a.k.a.

Saiyan_girl_cheetah) I'm sorry if my dialogue is a little confusing, I'll try to make it make more sense. Thanks for the suggestions and I'll always ask you if I need further advice! Thanks a bunch to everyone. 

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It took a couple seconds before their eyes adjusted to the light the moon was giving off. The five of them ran over to the ledge and saw five black figures move into the shadows towards the watchtower. Emelie recoiled with a gasp and saw/heard the others do the same. Frodo drew his sword and shouted, "Go!" This brought them all back to reality and the hobbits scrambled up a stone staircase, Emelie, who was stuck behind them began wishing that the hobbits legs were longer. Finally she couldn't take it anymore and she half lifted- half pushed Frodo up the remaining stairs and into a circular opening. The other three hobbits were already in there, looking around, frightened. Emelie realized that this was the perfect place to be. There were openings on every side and surely those Nazgul things would come and surround them and they would be trapped. Her thoughts flashed to Strider. Where was he?  
  
The hobbits had backed up so that all their backs were touching. Emelie drew her sword and squeezed in between Merry and Pippin. Someone gave an almost inaudible gasp, and Emelie swung her head around. There were five black riders standing on the edge of the ruins. _There are five of them and five of us._ Emelie thought optimistically. _ We can take them!_ Then the Nazgul took a step towards them, their metal boots clanking against the stone, and Emelie panicked. _Oh my God, no we can't. We're going to die, Oh my God, I don't want to die. Oh my God! _ Emelie's brain was screaming, but she couldn't and wouldn't say anything out loud.   
  
Without discussion the hobbits stepped in front of Frodo. Emelie watched as Sam was pushed away, then Merry and Pippin, side by side as always, and then the Black Rider stepped towards her. She brandished her sword and held an arm out in front of Frodo, using her guarding skills from basketball. She was terrified but a part of her brain whispered, _ This isn't real. Nothing can happen to you._ So in one swift move, she swung her arm so that both hands were gripping the hilt and she swung the sword like a baseball bat at the nearest Nazgul. She had expected the sword to swing right through the thing, but it just slammed into its side and the sword vibrated in Emelie's hand. The Nazgul shrieked, but didn't seem too badly wounded as it shoved her aside. She fell to the hard rock, landing on her side. A jolt of pain went shooting up her arm, and she moaned. It sure felt real.  
  
Frodo cried out and Emelie looked up, wincing. She tried to prop herself up, but her side was aching too badly, so she just lay there, helpless. The hobbits seemed okay and Sam came over to her side. He glanced down at her. "Are you all right, Miss Emelie?" She nodded, but he was staring at Frodo. She looked over. Frodo was surrounded by the Nazgul, and they could see him through the armored legs. Emelie saw him take something out of his pocket. _The ring!_ "Frodo!" Emelie yelled. The Nazgul ignored her, but Emelie saw Frodo's eyes flicker toward her, begging her to do something, and then he looked up at the ringwriath coming closer towards him and he slipped the ring on and disappeared. Emelie tried to sit up again. Sam was staring at the spot Frodo had been a few moments before, his chin trembling. It seemed as though the Ringwraiths could still see Frodo, and one of them in particular was moving forward, towards what seemed like nothing. Then, in one swift move, the Ringwraith thrust his sword forward. Sam gasped, and then there was a loud yell and Strider came flying out of nowhere, fighting back the Nazgul with a torch and sword. Then there came another cry that rang out above the shrieks of the Nazgul. Sam ran over to where Frodo lay. He had taken the ring off and there was a gash in his left shoulder. Emelie flinched. It looked painful. She turned her attention to Strider, who was throwing his torch at the last Nazgul. She watched as the black robes ignited and he ran off screeching.  
  
Emelie's side was feeling a little better and she was able to drag herself the few feet over to Frodo. Strider looked at his shoulder and then saw the Nazgul's sword. He picked it up and told them it was a Morgul Blade, and Emelie watched in amazement as the blade disintegrated in the wind. Strider looked out into the darkness and said, "We must move." In one swift move, he picked Frodo up and slung him over his shoulder. Sam followed him anxiously. Emelie pushed herself up, struggling to stand. Merry grabbed her arm and tried to help her, although her height made it difficult. "Thanks," she whispered. He forehead had lines of worry etched into it.   
  
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Okay, okay I know, really bad ending. Not the best chapter but I hope you liked it! Please review!  
  
  
  
  



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